Marine regiment heads back for 5th Iraq tour

A California regiment, part of the 1st Marine Division that invaded Iraq, heads back for its fifth tour of duty

John Koopman, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Photo: Michael Macor

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Navy Corpman, Reymundo Parra clutches his 8 month old daughter Abigal, as he prepares to depart to begin his 3rd tour of iraq. Corpman Parra, volunteered to return to be with his Marines out of country. Photo by Michael Macor/ San Francisco Chronicle , on 2/26/08 less

Navy Corpman, Reymundo Parra clutches his 8 month old daughter Abigal, as he prepares to depart to begin his 3rd tour of iraq. Corpman Parra, volunteered to return to be with his Marines out of country. Photo ... more

Photo: Michael Macor

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US Marine, Miguel Alvarez, drops out of a bus window to kiss his girlfriend Julia Rodriguez goodbye as Marines take off from Twentynine Palms Marine Base, to begin their deployment to Iraq. They live in La Habra, Calif. It's Alvarez's first trip to Iraq. Photo by Michael Macor/ San Francisco Chronicle , on 2/26/08 less

US Marine, Miguel Alvarez, drops out of a bus window to kiss his girlfriend Julia Rodriguez goodbye as Marines take off from Twentynine Palms Marine Base, to begin their deployment to Iraq. They live in La ... more

Photo: Michael Macor

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Marines, out of Twentynine Palms Marine Base in southern Calif., gather their gear as they prepare to depart for deployment to Iraq. Photo by Michael Macor/ San Francisco Chronicle , on 2/26/08

Marines, out of Twentynine Palms Marine Base in southern Calif., gather their gear as they prepare to depart for deployment to Iraq. Photo by Michael Macor/ San Francisco Chronicle , on 2/26/08

Photo: Michael Macor

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US Marine, Danny Hernando and his wife Caylin, say their goodbyes before boarding the buses to begin the regiments deployment to Iraq. Photo by Michael Macor/ San Francisco Chronicle , on 2/26/08

US Marine, Danny Hernando and his wife Caylin, say their goodbyes before boarding the buses to begin the regiments deployment to Iraq. Photo by Michael Macor/ San Francisco Chronicle , on 2/26/08

Photo: Michael Macor

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Lance Corporal Chris Cray, center, of Tombstone, Az., and other fellow Marines, checking their weapons before boarding buses to begin their deployment to Iraq. Photo by Michael Macor/ San Francisco Chronicle , on 2/26/08 less

Lance Corporal Chris Cray, center, of Tombstone, Az., and other fellow Marines, checking their weapons before boarding buses to begin their deployment to Iraq. Photo by Michael Macor/ San Francisco Chronicle , ... more

Photo: Michael Macor

Marine regiment heads back for 5th Iraq tour

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Reymundo Parra has already served two tours in Iraq, and he has two Purple Hearts to show for it.

Parra is a Navy hospital corpsman, a sailor who works as a medic in Marine infantry units. He could have gotten out of the Navy, or found a way to avoid another trip to the place they call "the Sandbox."

But no.

Parra was one of about 170 Marines and corpsmen who boarded buses Tuesday in a parking lot at the sprawling Marine base at Twentynine Palms, on their way to Iraq.

"It's true; I volunteered for this," Parra said before departure. "My wife hates me for it."

It's not uncommon to find troops like Parra, who have been to Iraq two, three or four times. What is remarkable about this deployment is that his unit, the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, is the first unit in the Marine Corps to be sent to Iraq five times.

"Someone else will hit that magical number soon," said Lt. Col. William Vistead, commanding officer of the 1,000 troops that make up the battalion. "But it keeps the Marines motivated to know they're the first."

The battalion was among the entire 1st Marine Division that participated in the invasion of Iraq in 2003. They were the Marines who pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein, an act that essentially marked the end of the battle for Baghdad. During its first four tours, it lost nearly two dozen men.

Vistead said he doesn't believe any of the Marines and sailors in the battalion now have been with the unit for all the deployments to Iraq. Marines tend to spend two to three years at a time in units, schools or special assignments.

But it is something of a milestone that the Marines are now sending a unit for a fifth time, as the war nears its five-year anniversary, on March 19. Marines typically send units over for seven-month tours, while Army units go for 12 or 15 months.

The endless cycle of deployments has taken a toll on the troops and their families. When units are not in Iraq, they are training to go there. And the experience level of the Marines does not necessarily grow. An average amount of time for an enlisted man on active duty is four years, and then they get out.

Vistead estimated that 60 percent of his men will be going to Iraq for the first time.

And then there are the seasoned veterans like Parra.

He took a machine gun bullet in the leg and, in another incident, suffered a concussion from a roadside bomb to earn him the Purple Hearts. Things are different now, though. He got married after his last tour. And he has an 8-month-old baby girl named Abigail he's leaving behind.

"I'm scared," said his wife, Vanessa. "I know he's a fighter and he'll protect his Marines.

"I just want this war to stop, so the guys can come home. We're losing a lot of people over there."

Parra and his family, along with dozens of other Marines and their families, were waiting in the parking lot Tuesday morning near the battalion's barracks at Twentynine Palms. Four white buses pulled into the lot.

Abigail, oblivious to it all, sucked on her binky and smiled. That softened Parra's smile, and he took the baby from his wife's arms. But other family members understood the poignancy of the moment.

Parra and dozens of young men with shaved heads and rifles in their hands climbed into the vehicles and prepared to leave for March Air Force Base, where they would get on airliners to take them to Kuwait, and then to Iraq. It was the second group of Marines from the battalion to leave this week; the remainder will depart over the next few days.

Wives and girlfriends leaned up to get a last kiss as their Marines leaned out the windows. Someone's son, a toddler about 2 years old, cried inconsolably as his daddy stepped away and climbed onto the bus. His mother kissed his forehead and whispered, "shhhhh," but the tears flowed anyway. Groups of Marines, some without family to see them off, milled about the parking lot, smoking and laughing, taking pictures of each other.

Family came from all over and from all walks of life. Groups of Latinos spoke in Spanish as older men with do-rags and Harley-Davidson T-shirts waited nearby. Couples kissed, sometimes long and hard, prompting one Marine to mutter, "Stop that; there are kids around."

On the far side of the bus, a dark-haired young woman sobbed and walked quickly to a car, wiping away the tears as she fumbled for her keys.

Staff Sgt. Edward Little, who will stay behind in Twentynine Palms and serve as family liaison and casualty notification officer, said the departures are always emotional.

That moment, when a mother's son or someone's husband climbs onto the bus with a weapon in his hand, hits them hard.

"We had a company leave yesterday, and one of the guys had been wounded three times on his previous tour," Little said. "His father was there and he remembered me because I was the one who had to call him and tell him his son had been hit.

"You could seen the stress on his face and the worry in his eyes."

The concern for safety might have lessened just a touch. The violence in Iraq's Anbar province, where the Marines are entrenched, has dissipated greatly since last summer. The Sunni tribes in the area have mostly joined what is known as Awakening Councils, in which they have stopped attacking Americans and instead turned their attention to foreign Islamic fighters who have fueled and funded most of the attacks.

First Sgt. Charles Putney from Sacramento said much of the training the battalion conducted in preparation for the deployment dealt with negotiations and talk, between the Marines and the Iraqis. "Last time, we went in and spent most of our time clearing houses," he said. "This time, the common question we want to ask the sheikhs and other leaders is 'What can I do for you?' "

Putney said the Marines are fairly motivated even as they prepare to fly into a war zone, however peaceful it might seem right now. He said that all of the junior Marines, those on their first enlistments, volunteered to join the corps even though the war was raging in Iraq.

"It humbles me that these Americans are willing to fight and to give their lives for their country," he said.

For a veteran noncommissioned officer like Putney, deploying overseas is old hat, and his wife, Naomi, is used to it. "It's his job," she says simply.

Manuel Ambriz, a 22-year-old lance corporal from San Jose, is going back for his second tour. "We worked long hours," he said. "But it was an experience. We got to meet new people and see a totally different culture. You see the kids fighting over a piece of candy or a soccer ball and it changes you."

His mother, Jessica Lopez, rolled her eyes as her son talked about the adventure of going to war.

"If we were accomplishing something over there, it might be worth it," she said. "I try not to think about it. I pray and have faith.

"You try to be positive to keep his spirits up."

Earlier stories: To read John Koopman's report on the unit's last tour of duty in Iraq, go to sfgate.com/ZCOH.

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